The direction he gave to philosophical enquiry, was expressed in the

saying that he brought "Philosophy down from Heaven to Earth
The direction he gave to philosophical enquiry, was expressed in the
saying that he brought "Philosophy down from Heaven to Earth." His
subjects were Man and Society. He entered a protest against the
enquiries of the early philosophers as to the constitution of the
Kosmos, the nature of the Heavenly Bodies, the theory of Winds and
Storms. He called these Divine things; and in a great degree useless,
if understood. The Human relations of life, the varieties of conduct
of men towards each other in all capacities, were alone within the
compass of knowledge, and capable of yielding fruit. In short, his
turn of mind was thoroughly _practical_, we might say _utilitarian_.

It is not the author"s intention, however, to pursue the subject in the

form of adjudicating between these two principles, but to follow what
he deems a simpler method--to analyze that complication of mental
qualities, called PERSONAL MERIT: to ascertain the attributes or
qualities that render a man an object of esteem and affection, or of
hatred and contempt
It is not the author"s intention, however, to pursue the subject in the
form of adjudicating between these two principles, but to follow what
he deems a simpler method--to analyze that complication of mental
qualities, called PERSONAL MERIT: to ascertain the attributes or
qualities that render a man an object of esteem and affection, or of
hatred and contempt. This is a question of fact, and not of abstract
science; and should be determined, as similar questions are, in the
modern physics, by following the experimental method, and drawing
general maxims from a comparison of particular instances.

A GOOD MEMORY SELECTS ITS MATERIAL

A GOOD MEMORY SELECTS ITS MATERIAL.--The best memory is not necessarily
the one which impartially repeats the largest number of facts of past
experience. Everyone has many experiences which he never needs to have
reproduced in memory; useful enough they may have been at the time, but
wholly useless and irrelevant later. They have served their purpose, and
should henceforth slumber in oblivion. They would be but so much rubbish
and lumber if they could be recalled. Everyone has surely met that
particular type of bore whose memory is so faithful to details that no
incident in the story he tells, no matter however trivial, is ever
omitted in the recounting. His associations work in such a tireless
round of minute succession, without ever being able to take a jump or a
short cut, that he is powerless to separate the wheat from the chaff; so
he dumps the whole indiscriminate mass into our long-suffering ears.